The world at large is having to abide by social distancing orders amidst COVID-19, which is something that individuals with CF have been experiencing to some degree for much of their lives to protect their health.

Jen, who has been fighting Cystic Fibrosis her whole life, is not a typical healthy adult and this bout with the “common cold” quickly escalated and culminated with Jen being fast-tracked for a double lung transplant. She had watched her lung function decrease over the years sometimes slowly, other times having a rapid decline. This was a rapid decline and the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Dr. Hahn advocates for a more proactive microbiology lab to closely monitor the types of CF infections and to determine which antibiotics each infection is most susceptible. In the Children’s National study, researchers analyzed each sample in two different ways: standard lab culture and molecular testing.